Kategori: English

Tree fungi grow on living or dead trees and are masters at breaking down wood.  They convert hard wood into nutrients that return to the soil and become food for new plants. Different species follow one another, but the horsehoof fungus appears quickly when a tree is dying. It is dark brown/black with a white edge and becomes rock hard. In the past, it was used to start fires because it is highly flammable. It gets its common English name from its shape – it looks like a horse’s hoof. If you look closely at the horsehoof fungus, you will see tiny beetles living in the spores on the underside of the fungus. It takes different amounts of time for the fungi to break down a tree. When an oak log falls to the ground, it can take several hundred years, while a birch log is gone in a few years.

The oak trees in Glömda Skogen (the Forgotten Forest) are located in a clearing. Once upon a time, this was a hill with pastures. The oak trees were able to spread out there and grow very large. But when the forest was allowed to grow freely, the oak trees became crowded and other trees began to grow under the crowns of the oak trees. But oak trees don’t like that!  They get weakened when they don’t have enough space, and there is a risk that they will become so weak that they die. A clear sign that an oak tree is too crowded is that it has no branches lower down on the trunk. An oak tree that has been allowed to spread out as it pleases has thick branches even further down.

Forestry leaves high stumps when trees are felled. A high stump is the upper part of a tree trunk that is left standing after the tree has been felled or cut at a high height, often 3–5 metres above the ground. Unlike a regular stump, which is low and close to ground level, a high stump remains as a standing structure in the forest for many years.

High stumps promote biodiversity. When the tree dies and begins to decompose, it becomes a habitat for many species. Insects, especially beetles, thrive in high stumps, as do woodpeckers, which find it easier to peck holes in dying trees than in healthy ones. Fungi and lichens grow on the dying wood and are an important part of the chain of decomposition.

Oak trees love light. More sun means stronger growth and increases the tree’s chances of living a long life. To help the crowded oaks, we have chopped down some of the trees around them. Hopefully, this will help them thrive and live to be 500 years old. They are now about 200 years old.

What’s more, old, sunlit oaks are needed to provide a home for hundreds of species of insects, lichens and fungi, many of which are endangered. Oak is also economically valuable to us humans. The wood fetches good prices for use in furniture and flooring.

When trees, bushes and other plants grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air.  They use it to build their trunks, branches, roots and leaves. It’s like they’re storing the carbon dioxide in a huge invisible pantry—this is called carbon sequestration.

The carbon can remain in the plants and in the ground for a long time. When leaves and branches fall to the ground, they break down, and some of the carbon remains in the soil.  The ocean can also store a lot of carbon through small plants and animals that live there.

But if we chop down too many trees, burn wood or destroy land, the carbon is released back into the air. That’s why it is important to take care of forests, fields and oceans – so that nature can continue to help us in the fight against climate change.

The forest oak is a magnificent tree that can live for over 1,000 years. It is a strong deciduous tree with deeply lobed leaves and hard, heavy wood. Oak was important for shipbuilding as early as the Viking Age, and for several hundred years, until 1875, it was forbidden for anyone other than the king to use it. Oak is one of the tree species in Sweden on which most other species depend. This is because it can grow so thick and old.

The silver birch has existed in Sweden for 12,000 years and can live up to 300 years. It loves light and thrives best on fresh, firm ground. The silver birch gets its Swedish name from the small resinous warts that cover its young shoots. Historically, the wood has been used for tools, household utensils, furniture and skis, among other things.  Today, it is used for interior design, furniture, and as a raw material for textile pulp and paper pulp.

The eared willow is a willow bush that has been cultivated in Sweden since the 1700s. It thrives in moist soil and helps to prevent soil erosion on beaches. Nowadays, it has become wild. Eared willow has long, narrow leaves and fast-growing, flexible annual shoots that can grow to 1–2 meters. These are traditionally used for basket weaving, but also for fences and as plant supports. Eared willow blooms early in the spring with small, yellow catkins that provide important nectar for bees.

 

The fir is Sweden’s most common tree and is characterized by its needles and hanging cones.  It thrives in cool climates and often grows in large forests.  Fir trees are evergreen and normally live for 200–300 years. In forestry, fir trees are felled at 75–150 years of age. Fir is the Swedish plant on which most other species depend. Guests found in fir trees include fungi, lichens and beetles.

The alder migrated to Sweden from the south 8,500 years ago. It is our only deciduous tree that bears cones and thrives in moist soil, often near lakes and streams. Its shoots, buds and leaves are sticky, which is where the tree gets its Swedish name. Alder grows to a height of 10–25 metres and is normally felled at 60 years of age, but it can live for as long as 300 years.  The wood is soft and malleable and is used to make furniture and clogs.